MORGANTOWN —
Everyone has his or her favorite Noel Devine run, be it the 93-yard touchdown run that clinched victory over Syracuse two years ago or the 88-yard touchdown run he sprang on Pitt last season, but Devine’s greatest run may well be the one he is making toward a college degree.
You talk about Devine providing surprises, well none tops that.
“I think I shocked a lot of people,” the West Virginia University running back admitted during summer football interviews the other day at the Puskar Center. “God already has a path laid out for me. I’m just living and trying to enjoy.”
Perhaps the most shocked person that Devine is back for a fourth season is Devine himself.
“I thought I’d be three and out,” he admitted, when asked if he ever thought when he began his collegiate career that he would stay all the way.
What changed?
The answer to that is Devine changed.
Like so many kids, he grew up.
“Sitting down thinking about it, thinking about the bigger picture, I realized it’s bigger. It’s not just about football. It’s life after football and everything that comes with it,” he said.
And when he did that he realized the opportunity he had, an opportunity to get something that would last a lifetime, not just until some takes a knee on him in the middle of a football career.
When he and his bud, Jock Sanders, sat down and talked about the decision, when they weighed jumping for a chance at the NFL rather than coming back to WVU, trying to help the team to a Big East championship and to finish their pursuit of a degree, they realized that there really are priorities in life that aren’t measured in first downs and touchdowns.
“[Getting a degree] would mean a lot. It’s something a lot of people can’t say they did. Not too many in my family did,” said Devine, whose family situation is well known, having lost both parents while young.
If football was the biggest challenge when he came to Morgantown, he found another one in the degree.
“I set my goals high,” he said.
And, having set them, he hasn’t backed off. He says he is not second-guessing the decision to return.
“I was happy with the decision I made. I took time to think about it with my family,” he said.
Certainly he has changed since coming to school.
“I would say spiritually, mentally I’m an overall better person,” he said. “It’s just part of growing up.”
So is having fathered three children.
Bringing children into the world helps you find the high road, a path Devine is certainly taking.
He expected to leave Morgantown this week to return to the Fort Myers, Fla., area to help with the 239 Futures Camp that he helped found.
This has become something of a mission for him, working with the kids in the area, giving them a chance to meet him and learn from him, to see how one of their own has been able to climb above what could be a troubled childhood and use his skills to advance.
“It’s something I always wanted to do. It brings me pride, knowing that I can put a smile on a kid’s face. If I put a smile on their face, they put a smile on my face,” he said, and you could tell by the way he smiled when he said this was something more than just words.
“It’s always good to give back and show you care, show your support to the younger kids. That means a lot where I was growing up,” he said.
Do not mistake any of this for taking away from his football. Devine remains committed to the game that is making all this possible and has accepted the role of senior leader on this football team.
He takes it seriously and has even set as his top goal winning the Big East championship, although you can rest assured that there are some personal goals he would like to reach, putting a cap on one of the great careers in WVU history.
If he can shatter Steve Slaton’s single season rushing record of 1,741 yards, he has chance to break Avon Cobourne’s career record, going into the season needing 1,783 yards to match Cobourne’s 5,164 career yards.
With 3,381 career rushing yards, he is almost certain to surpass Patrick White as the No. 2 all-time rusher in WVU history, needing 1,108 yards to tie White’s career total of 4,489 yards.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
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